Fred Haines
Encyclopedia
Fred Haines was an American
screenwriter
and film director
.
in 1936, and later moved to Tucson, Arizona
with his family. He joined the United States Navy
in 1953, and served until 1956 when he received an honorable discharge
. While in the Navy, he had married Dede Wright, the daughter of his commanding Admiral
, although they divorced in 1961 after having two children.
and the University of Arizona
before receiving his degree from the University of California, Berkeley
. He got a job at Pacifica Radio
, where he met film director Joseph Strick
through film critic Pauline Kael
. Strick was impressed with Haines' intellectual curiosity and film knowledge, and got him a job in the writing department at Columbia Pictures
.
Strick obtained the film rights to the James Joyce
novel Ulysses
, and brought Haines on board as co-writer and associate producer for the film, with Strick directing. Ulysses was released in 1967, and was praised for its faithfulness to Joyce's novel, receiving a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay
at the 1967 Academy Awards
. While filming Ulysses in Ireland
, Haines met his second wife, Frances McCormack.
Haines continued to work closely with Strick, although he requested his name be taken off the credits for Strick's 1970 adaptation of Henry Miller
's Tropic of Cancer
after a disagreement between the pair. Haines spent the early 1970s trying to arrange funding for his proposed adaptation of Herman Hesse's novel Steppenwolf
. The film version
was released in 1974, with Haines directing the film himself.
When McCormack fell ill with multiple sclerosis
, Haines and his wife moved to Ireland to be closer to her family and the Irish health care system. The couple lived in a rented apartment in the house of writer Constantine Fitzgibbon
on the outskirts of Dublin, and Haines worked as a script editor for the Irish broadcaster RTÉ
and helped to run Stage One, a fringe theatre
company with fellow American expatriate writer Douglas Kennedy
.
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
.
Early life
Haines was born in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
in 1936, and later moved to Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
with his family. He joined the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
in 1953, and served until 1956 when he received an honorable discharge
Military discharge
A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve.-United States:Discharge or separation should not be confused with retirement; career U.S...
. While in the Navy, he had married Dede Wright, the daughter of his commanding Admiral
Admiral (United States)
In the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard and the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, admiral is a four-star flag officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. Admiral ranks above vice admiral and below Fleet Admiral in the Navy; the Coast Guard and the Public Health...
, although they divorced in 1961 after having two children.
Film career
After leaving the military, Haines studied literature at Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
before receiving his degree from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. He got a job at Pacifica Radio
Pacifica Radio
Pacifica Radio is the oldest public radio network in the United States. It is a group of five independently operated, non-commercial, listener-supported radio stations that is known for its progressive/liberal political orientation. It is also a program service supplying over 100 affiliated...
, where he met film director Joseph Strick
Joseph Strick
Joseph Strick was an American director, producer and screenwriter.Born in Braddock, Pennsylvania, Strick briefly attended UCLA before enrolling in the Army during World War II. In the Army, he served as a cameraman in the Army Air Forces.In 1948, he and Irving Lerner produced Muscle Beach...
through film critic Pauline Kael
Pauline Kael
Pauline Kael was an American film critic who wrote for The New Yorker magazine from 1968 to 1991. Earlier in her career, her work appeared in City Lights, McCall's and The New Republic....
. Strick was impressed with Haines' intellectual curiosity and film knowledge, and got him a job in the writing department at Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
.
Strick obtained the film rights to the James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
novel Ulysses
Ulysses (novel)
Ulysses is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce. It was first serialised in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, and then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on 2 February 1922, in Paris. One of the most important works of Modernist literature,...
, and brought Haines on board as co-writer and associate producer for the film, with Strick directing. Ulysses was released in 1967, and was praised for its faithfulness to Joyce's novel, receiving a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay
Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay
The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
at the 1967 Academy Awards
40th Academy Awards
The 40th Academy Awards honored film achievements of 1967. Originally scheduled for 8 April 1968, the awards were postponed to two days later, 10 April 1968, because of the assassination of Dr...
. While filming Ulysses in Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, Haines met his second wife, Frances McCormack.
Haines continued to work closely with Strick, although he requested his name be taken off the credits for Strick's 1970 adaptation of Henry Miller
Henry Miller
Henry Valentine Miller was an American novelist and painter. He was known for breaking with existing literary forms and developing a new sort of 'novel' that is a mixture of novel, autobiography, social criticism, philosophical reflection, surrealist free association, and mysticism, one that is...
's Tropic of Cancer
Tropic of Cancer (novel)
Tropic of Cancer is a novel by Henry Miller which has been described as "notorious for its candid sexuality" and as responsible for the "free speech that we now take for granted in literature." It was first published in 1934 by the Obelisk Press in Paris, France, but this edition was banned in the...
after a disagreement between the pair. Haines spent the early 1970s trying to arrange funding for his proposed adaptation of Herman Hesse's novel Steppenwolf
Steppenwolf (novel)
Steppenwolf is the tenth novel by German-Swiss author Hermann Hesse. Originally published in Germany in 1927, it was first translated into English in 1929. Combining autobiographical and psychoanalytic elements, the novel was named after the lonesome wolf of the steppes...
. The film version
Steppenwolf (film)
Steppenwolf is a 1974 film adaptation of Hermann Hesse's 1928 novel of the same name. The film made heavy use of visual special effects that were cutting-edge at the time of its release....
was released in 1974, with Haines directing the film himself.
When McCormack fell ill with multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
, Haines and his wife moved to Ireland to be closer to her family and the Irish health care system. The couple lived in a rented apartment in the house of writer Constantine Fitzgibbon
Constantine Fitzgibbon
Robert Louis Constantine Lee-Dillon Fitzgibbon was a historian and novelist.-Birth, family and marriage:...
on the outskirts of Dublin, and Haines worked as a script editor for the Irish broadcaster RTÉ
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
and helped to run Stage One, a fringe theatre
Fringe theatre
Fringe theatre is theatre that is not of the mainstream. The term comes from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which name comes from Robert Kemp, who described the unofficial companies performing at the same time as the second Edinburgh International Festival as a ‘fringe’, writing: ‘Round the fringe...
company with fellow American expatriate writer Douglas Kennedy
Douglas Kennedy (writer)
Douglas Kennedy is an internationally renowned and bestselling novelist. His 10 novels havebeen translated in 22 countries. His latest novel, , to be published in paperback with...
.
Later life
By 1984, money troubles prompted Haines and McCormack to return to Los Angeles. Their marriage ended in 2000, and Haines later lived next door to his son Sean in Venice Beach until he died aged 72 on May 4, 2008 due to complications from lung cancerLung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
.